Alabama state auditor Jim Ziegler, when defending Roy Moore’s behavior, stated, “Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.”
The “defense” of Roy Moore by members of the religious right dragging Mary and Joseph into the controversy while distorting the birth of Jesus is blasphemous. This underscores both their hypocrisy and their tenuous grasp of reality.
Radical evangelical Christianity is one of the most divisive offshoots in the United States. It is predicated not upon any personal conversion experience in which they are “born again” or “saved” or even belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ. Rather, these folks believe politicians should select their voters not voters selecting their politicians, where their heritage entitles them to first-class citizenship while promoting counterfeit Christianity.
Because of their indoctrination (Fox News and conservative talk radio), their followers worship them. If one of their leaders poses nude, sexually harasses women, commits adultery, molests children, or sells out our country, they are immediately absolved. Hence, con artists like Donald Trump, Roy Moore, and other Republican politicians are the victims of partisan/religious persecutions when their wrongdoings are exposed, not because any of the things they are accused of doing are lies or even that they are morally wrong. Rather, they are the whipping boys of prejudice solely because the social (and often legal) norms of our society are trumped by a perceived belief that they are victims and the persecuted culture in America.
We will never persuade these folks their political/religious agendas are misguided. We can only resolve, like never before, to ensure their defeat at the ballot box. We must say “NO” when it counts, to restore our country to its democratic principles and authentic Christian values.
This article appears in Dec 14-21, 2017.